Why Are Protestants More Prosocial Than Catholics? A Comparative Study Among Orthodox Dutch Believers

The present study sheds light on the contentious relation between religions and prosociality by comparing self-reported altruistic and prosocial behavior among a group of Catholic and Protestant believers. We found that denomination was strongly related to strength of religious beliefs, afterlife be...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Elk, Michiel van 1980- (Author) ; Rutjens, Bastiaan T. (Author) ; Harreveld, Frenk van (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group 2017
In: The international journal for the psychology of religion
Year: 2017, Volume: 27, Issue: 1, Pages: 65-81
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Netherlands / Catholic / Protestant / Pro-social behavior
RelBib Classification:AE Psychology of religion
AG Religious life; material religion
NCB Personal ethics
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:The present study sheds light on the contentious relation between religions and prosociality by comparing self-reported altruistic and prosocial behavior among a group of Catholic and Protestant believers. We found that denomination was strongly related to strength of religious beliefs, afterlife beliefs, free-will beliefs, and self-reported prosocial behavior. Denominational differences between Catholics and Protestants in self-reported prosociality were mediated by a stronger endorsement of religious beliefs and belief in predestination but were not related to motivational measures of self-esteem. We also found that the perceived prosociality (i.e., the extent to which others were perceived as being prosocial) was higher for one's religious ingroup than one's outgroup, and this effect was stronger for Catholics than Protestants. These novel findings provide an integrated perspective on how religious denominations shape prosocial attitudes and behavior.
Item Description:In der Druckausgabe ist Volume 27, Numbers 1-4 in einem Heft erschienen
ISSN:1532-7582
Contains:Enthalten in: The international journal for the psychology of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/10508619.2017.1245023